Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas warns tech founders: ‘Big Tech will copy anything that's good'
, CEO of AI search startup
Perplexity
, has advised student entrepreneurs to expect their ideas to be copied by large technology companies. Speaking at Y Combinator's AI Startup School, Srinivas said that if a new product has potential to generate substantial revenue, big tech firms will likely replicate it.
'You've got to live with that fear'
While addressing undergraduate, graduate and PhD students, Srinivas explained how major players like Google, Meta and OpenAI are always scanning the market for new ideas that can be scaled. 'If your company is something that can make revenue on the scale of hundreds of millions of dollars or potentially billions of dollars, you should always assume that a model company will copy it,' he said.
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He pointed to his own company's experience. In December 2022, Perplexity launched an answer engine with real-time web crawling. Shortly after, the same feature was rolled out by Google's Gemini, ChatGPT, and Anthropic's Claude. 'They will copy anything that's good. I think you got to live with that fear,' Srinivas said.
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Imitation is not the end, Srinivas tells founders
Despite the risk of being copied, Srinivas urged founders to keep building and to focus on developing unique products and strong brands. 'Work incredibly hard,' he told the students, and 'don't get discouraged by imitation.'
Perplexity's communications lead, Jesse Dwyer, echoed the concern. Speaking to Business Insider, Dwyer said, 'Big Tech companies not only copy your features but they also try to drown your voice.'
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Browser wars and market power
Perplexity recently launched its Comet browser, shortly before OpenAI announced its own plans to launch an AI-powered browser. Dwyer warned about the risk of monopolistic practices in the browser space. 'Browser wars should be won by users, and if users lose Browser War III, it will be from a familiar playbook: monopolistic behaviour by an 'everything company' forcing its product on the market," he told Business Insider.
OpenAI to launch new browser
OpenAI is preparing to launch a web browser that could compete with Google Chrome, according to a Reuters report. The browser is expected to integrate ChatGPT-like features directly into the interface. This includes real-time summarisation, smart search, voice commands and contextual memory.
With ChatGPT reportedly drawing 500 million users each week, OpenAI's new browser may shift traffic and data away from Google. That could affect Alphabet's ad revenue, which depends heavily on Chrome and its default search settings.
Perplexity Pro Airtel offer
Meanwhile,
Airtel
has partnered with Perplexity to provide its advanced subscription service, Perplexity Pro, free for one year to all its users. This includes those on Airtel's mobile, broadband, and DTH services. The offer, which is typically valued at ₹17,000 annually, is now available through the Airtel Thanks app at no extra cost.
AI search assistant finds mass appeal beyond students
Unlike Google's Gemini Pro offer targeted at students, Airtel's collaboration with Perplexity covers a wider demographic — from school and college students to researchers and working professionals. Perplexity Pro offers real-time, structured answers by tapping into models like GPT-4.1 and Claude, effectively replacing traditional search results with contextual, citation-based insights. Users can upload documents, ask follow-up questions, and summarise complex data within a single interface.
Professionals, students tap into AI-powered productivity
For students managing research deadlines or preparing for exams, Perplexity Pro acts like a digital assistant, simplifying dense academic material and generating organised responses from trusted sources. Professionals in fields such as consulting, design, and law can use the tool to extract insights from reports, draft content, or generate visuals. The Pro version also includes tools like Perplexity Labs for image generation and coding support, making it useful across a range of tasks.
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